Western Forum for Pest Management Meeting 2016 Western Committee on Crop Pests Date: October 20, 2016 Location: Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Chair: Scott Hartley Secretary: Meghan Vankosky 1. Meeting called to order by the Chair at 8:20 am; all attendees welcomed to the meeting. -approximately 35-45 in attendance; all attendees present at the beginning of the meeting introduced themselves 2. Chair outlined agenda for the meeting; no changes or discussion of agenda. 3. Minutes from 2015 meeting in Abbotsford, BC briefly summarized. No comments or additions made to 2015 minutes. 4. No new business arose from 2015 meeting. 5. Resolutions from 2015 meeting discussed, with no outstanding Resolutions identified. John Gavloski and Owen Olfert volunteered for 2016 Resolutions Committee. 6. Insect Pest Summaries Saskatchewan: Presented by Scott Hartley; report appended. Report concluded at 8:45. Questions: i. Q: Are survey results available on SaskAg website? A: Most maps will be available online in January 2017, PLW map already published. Alberta: Presented by Scott Meers with pictures by Shelley Barkley; report appended. Report concluded at 9:17 Questions: i. What was the incidence of wheat curl mite and wheat streak mosaic. A: ‘Big’ year for those in AB, also widespread in MB (input from John Gavloski) ii. What were tent caterpillar populations like? It was a big year in SK, were outbreaks observed in AB? A: Some activity, with a more significant pocket in Peace Region. Manitoba: Report presented by John Gavloski; report appended. Report concluded at 10:02. Questions: i. Were there flax and hemp surveys in 2016? A: John was called out to look at flax and hemp crops for different issues, but never found any of the insects of concern in the fields; did find natural enemies; no formal survey of those crops was conducted. ii. How much wheat midge resistant wheat is planted in MB? A: Less than 5%; uptake has not been great because midge populations are so low and there have been no bad years. iii. Have you observed Lygus movement from alfalfa to canola when alfalfa is cut? A: Have observed quick build-up of Lygus populations in canola in July that seems to coincide with drying cereals and some alfalfa being cut, but not sure that is the source. British Columbia: Report presented by Susanna Acheampong; report appended. Report concluded at 10:58. Questions: Scott Meers commented that it was unusual, suspect, that many pheromone traps were not as efficient for monitoring purposes this year as in the past, and that all provinces experienced some issues, albeit with different pest targets; Scott suggested this might be something to look into going forward. Summarizers for 2017 will be the same as in 2016. 7. Provincial Entomology Research Summaries for 2016 Saskatchewan: Report of 10 research projects and one research program under establishment summarized by Tyler Wist with input from SK researchers in attendance (Owen Olfert, Meghan Vankosky, Boyd Mori). -Erl Svendsen briefly discussed the AAFC Field Guide that is now available in hard copy and electronically; the guide will be updated as needed; four new insects have been added in 2016: brown marmorated stink bug, pea weevil, sugar beet root aphid and the bronzed blossom pollen beetle Alberta: Report of 23 research projects presented by Hector Carcamo with input from Jennifer Otani on projects in the Alberta Peace Region. Manitoba: Report of 7 major research projects in MB presented by John Gavloski -Project #7 is a mobile app for IPM that is being developed; the project is looking for testers and John asked that interested volunteers sign up. Tyler Wist asked about access to the app once on the list of testers; Scott Hartley asked if maps produced for MB in the future would only be those developed by the app, or if regular maps would be produced British Columbia: Report of 11 research projects underway in BC presented by Susanna Acheampong; focus on wireworm research (5 projects). Summarizers for 2017 will be the same as in 2016. 8. Agency and Industry Reports Canadian Food Inspection Agency Insect Pest Report: Presentation prepared by Dave Holden. -Gypsy moth found in Ontario and Quebec, not established in western Canada although some specimens have been found in BC, AB and suspect specimens have been collected in MB, SK -Apple maggot: 1 positive ID in Kelowna, BC -monitored for blueberry maggot at 25 sites, not detected -monitored for Japanese beetle with 500 traps, not detected; present in Oregon -No detections of Khapra beetle in BC, SK, MB, AB; expect that this species will not establish in Canada as outdoor winter temperatures are too cold to support its overwintering; monitor to protect Canada’s reputation for Khapra beetle free and clean commercial shipments -One positive ID of European cherry fruit fly in Ontario Questions: Where was the apple maggot found in Kelowna? A: Information not yet released. Pest Management Regulatory Agency Insecticide Update: Report by Barb Luther -review of new insecticide registrations, new minor uses, and other associated updates; information provided in handout (includes pesticides and chemicals registered for use against a variety of pests including lamprey in the Great Lakes). Questions: i. Will methoprene products intended to control flies in cow manure affect decomposers? ii. What is the mode of action of canola oil? iii. Is there information online to help with decision-making regarding use of dimethoate? iv. What is the best way to keep up to date on pesticide registrations? Pest Management Centre and Pesticide Risk Reduction Program Update: Report prepared and presented by Erin Adams and Kathy Makela -have identified 38 new priorities for minor use pesticides -interest in products for Christmas tree pests, contact Erin with suggestions -March 21-23, 2017: 2017 Canadian Biopesticide Minor Use Priorities meeting -crop profiles for 31 crops are available on-line from the Government of Canada website; profiles are updated on a rotation and are provided for vegetable and field crops; spring and winter wheat among profiles to be updated in 2017, information is being collected at this time -the PRRP has 5 strategies that concern insect pests -the PRRP works to support first time registrations for biopesticides and provides funding to demonstrate product efficacy -the PMC activities include invasive species coordination groups for brown marmorated stink bug and spotted wing drosophila -pest management reports: contact Allison Plunkett: [email protected] Other Product Updates: Scott MacDonald, BASF: spoke briefly of a product being developed that fits into a novel class of pesticide chemistry that will target aphids, whitefly, and thrips that will eventually be registered for use in greenhouse crops and soybeans; the product has a novel mode of action (first in ~30 years) that is as yet unknown; the product is believed to have no cross resistance and is expected to be benign for non-target species. The international trade name for the product is Inscalis and a joint submission for registration has been made by Canada, USA, Mexico, and Australia; expect at least 3 years before product will be available for use in Canada BASF also undergoing nematode production and testing in Ontario and is working on a new strain of Beauveria that has been submitted to the EPA for mite control in addition to other insects already targeted by Beauveria products. 9. Special Reports Todd Kabaluk, AAFC Agassiz: “Toward a comprehensive approach to wireworm biocontrol” -discussed work using two strains of Metarhizium (fungal entomopathogen) to control wireworm in BC Questions: i. Is Met52 product registered for blackvine weevil? Are pheromones known for Agriodes species? A: Yes to both questions. ii. What impact does fungal infection have on consumption of food by larvae? A: Wireworms feed in stages, but some feeding reduction is observed. iii. Are pheromone granules grain based? A: They are cellulose base, not sure about grain. iv. Do click beetles have parasitoids that might be affected by the fungal pathogen? A: Some parasitoids have been found in adult click beetles, also larvae have been found infected with nematodes, and adult click beetles are eaten by ground beetles; most of these natural enemies seem unaffected by the fungal pathogen. AAFC Update: Report provided by Owen Olfert on new entomologists hired by AAFC in 2016: -Dr. Haley Catton at AAFC Lethbridge, cereal crop entomologist -Dr. Meghan Vankosky at AAFC Saskatoon, field crop entomologist -Dr. Boyd Mori, Biologist at AAFC Saskatoon, swede midge host resistance project -Dr. Tyler Wist at AAFC Saskatoon, cereal crop entomologist focusing on cereal aphids and wheat midge -Dr. Paul Abram at AAFC Agassiz, biological control entomologist -Dr. Marta Guarna at AAFC Beaverlodge, honeybee program Tyler Wist: “Refining the ceral aphid dynamic action threshold (DAT): Aphidius avenaphis voracity” -Tyler gave an overview of the DAT concept, work being done to refine estimates of natural enemy voracity for aphids, and an update on his collaboration with Erl Svendson to create a smartphone app for cereal aphids Questions: i. Scott Hartley observed silver and gold coloured aphid mummies in 2016; what parasitoid causes this? A: Tyler did not know, S. Acheampong suggested the mummies may be ‘double-decker’ mummies ii. Are the seven and thirteen spotted ladybugs are dominant in SK? A: Yes. Prairie Pest Monitoring Network Update: Jennifer Otani demonstrated the PPMN blog and provided usage statistics